Our Rating:

Library Formats:

eAudiobook

Age Group:

Children 7+

Genre:

Classic, Fantasy

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

This is a dramatisation for all seven books in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Everyone knows the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the other books in the series are also great, my favourite is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The stories have been adapted and shortened, which makes the run time for the whole audiobook just over 15 hours. You can listen to one of the books in around 2 hours, which I really enjoyed.

The full cast dramatisation with music really brings the stories to life and I think it has been done very well. This is a fantastic series to read in its entirety, but I feel that the chance to listen to a dramatised version is a great way to introduce the stories to younger children.

This would be great for a car journey, as they’re not just enjoyable for kids – they hold appeal for adults too. Listen now, and find yourself transported into a fantastical world!

The post The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

eAudiobook, Spoken Word CD

Age Group:

Children age 6+

Genre:

Classic Fiction, Adventure

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Famous Five and spent my childhood reading and rereading the books. I was curious to see if they still held appeal as an adult, so decided to listen to one on BorrowBox.

I wasn’t disappointed, this title had a good narrator (which is key!) and I was instantly transported back to childhood. I think these books still hold appeal for children, they’re light-hearted, absorbing and keep you guessing. This one is the second in the series, though they can be read in any order, and is another classic adventure for the Famous Five.

Would recommend for kids to read, or parents to read to their children. The audiobooks are great for car journeys too.

The post Five Go Adventuring Again by Enid Blyton appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

Book, eBook, eAudiobook

Age Group:

Adults

Genre:

Historical Fiction, Thriller

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

Eye of the Needle was one of the BBC’s 100 Books that Shaped Our World and no wonder, as it is one of the best thrillers of the last half-century and screams “just one more chapter”. This is quite something, given that the plot – a German spy is on the brink of scuppering the allies’ plans for D-Day in 1944 – has a well-known real-life ending. In fact, the allies’ plans went undiscovered and D-Day was a success.

So why, given the reader knows how things turn out, is the book such a page-turner? Firstly, as with another “what if?” – Frederick Forsyth’s Day of the Jackal (based on an attempted assassination of French Charles de Gaulle) – you are willing to suspend disbelief. So you are never quite sure what will happen next. Second, the quality of the writing – pacey and as clear as a pane of glass. This was Ken Follett’s breakthrough book and although he went on to write many others – including the Century trilogy and Kingsbridge series – nothing lives up to Eye of the Needle for characterisation and those twists and turns that make you want to read on.

The book was made into a film in 1981 starring Donald Sutherland but nothing matches the immersive-ness of the book itself. So, if you’re looking for a holiday read, or an absorbing alternative to a box-set, this may be for you – but be warned, there are some adult themes. Just make sure you put up the “do not disturb” sign while you’re reading it.

The post Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

Book, eBook

Age Group:

Adults, Young Adults

Genre:

Sci-Fi, Humour

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

‘Ford… you’re turning into a penguin. Stop it.’

I first read this book when I was about 13, stuck in a tent hiding away from the sun, and about 10 years later it is still the funniest book I’ve ever read. It works perfectly as a stand-alone book, or an introduction to the other sequels (which I really enjoyed as well, although not in a tent).

Arthur Dent, an average and unassuming human man, has his life slightly interrupted by the destruction of his home planet and a bizarre series of events culminating in him nearly having his brain removed by mice. Along the way he meets Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin (The Paranoid Android), and a human woman named Trillian, all of whom add to the humour and peculiarity of the book.

In addition to the book being brilliant on its own, it also has an enormous cult following, in everyday life and in the dozens of celebrities who recognise how great it is. I would highly recommend this book to fans of any kind of literature, and even if you think science fiction isn’t for you, the humour and writing style of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will draw you in regardless.

The post The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

Book, eBook, eAudiobook

Age Group:

Adults

Genre:

Sci-Fi

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

In a really close future, due to chemical released during Second World War, girls get a power, like an electric current than run in their fingers. We follow different characters having the power and what it means to not be afraid anymore. I thought the idea was exciting, if we reverse history and social position, what would happen if it were women who got the Power?

The book starts well and develops some different ideas and directions: power in politics and in religion, though I felt that the author was slightly over flown by the possibilities. I was shocked by the violence described and the choice to mute the voices of women who won’t have chosen those paths, was a drawback, but I can understand why this is a bestseller.

The message is clear: Women with Power are no different from Men with Power.

The post The Power by Naomi Alderman appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Age Group:

Adults, Young Adults

Genre:

Coming of age, Crime

Two members of our staff loved this book so much they wrote reviews! This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

Review 1

This book was on the top ten bestsellers for ages and I can see why. It is a beautiful story. It took me a few pages in to really appreciate the tale. However it begins in 1952 with six year old Kya Clark who lives in a rundown shack off the marshland of Barkley Gove, North Carolina. She faces horrible family breakdown and soon finds herself surviving in marshland alone. But she is not really alone – she has the gulls and the other wildlife to accompany her. Soon her isolated life is broken by the arrival of two very different young men who are captivated by her wild beauty.

Then in 1969 Chase Andrews, the local “jock” is found dead and the locals immediately suspect Kya, the “Marsh Girl”. The story moves from a coming of age story to a murder mystery. The descriptions of the marshland are gorgeous and you can feel the heat and swampland off the page. Highly recommended.

Review 2

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and finished in only a few hours.

The story focuses on Kya, a young woman who has lived alone in a North Carolina swamp since she was a child, as she falls in love and tries to cope with the world outside her home. This is only a minor spoiler, but the book does have a happy, if bittersweet, ending, so don’t worry about that.

It is the first book from Delia Owens, and it’s brilliance really speaks to her skill as an author.

I can understand why this book has been so popular amongst the library’s readers and book clubs, as it is incredibly well written and has an incredibly engaging storyline. It is definitely a character driven book, with a focus on the natural world that surrounds Kya, and I would highly recommend it.

The post Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens appeared first on BaNES Virtual Library.

Our Rating:

Library Formats:

Book

Age Group:

Adults, Young Adults

Genre:

Cosy Crime

This book is part of our Centenary Collection.

This is a twisted tale of a body muddle and a body double! Body Number One….The body of a young woman appears in the Bantry’s library and Miss Jane Marple is called in to unravel the mystery. Arriving before the police she investigates the scene seeing the body of a young woman with bitten fingernails, dressed in a cheap satin evening gown. Neither of the Bantry’s know the young woman so who is she and how did she end up strangled in their house?
Body Number Two…..

 A young woman’s body is found in a burnt out car close enough to the places of interest to attract the interest of the investigators. How is it connected to the body in the library and how on earth did she get involved?

Miss Marple and Dolly Bantry set off to the hotel the young woman worked in on the trail of the truth which when it comes is far worse than anyone, except Jane, expected. Agatha Christie captivates with her precisely formed plots, delicate clues and delightfully detailed characters. You can see them and hear them as clearly as if you were in the room with them!

But with at least one murderer at large, perhaps it is best to NOT be in the room with them! Instead enjoy the book in the safety of your own home.

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